Many people still consider Windows 11 to be a mere facelift of the system. Yesterday Microsoft gave us a slight preview showing that they have been working in many areas. Yesterday we could see the new Start menu, the new Settings app interface, the new Settings app Microsoft Store, the new File Browser and much more. But as they say there were things under the hood when it came to Windows Ink, Dynamic Refresh Rate or Dynamic Refresh Rate.
Windows 11 will work better with Windows Ink
One of the surprises that we have found is a more natural movement when working with optical pens like the Surface Pen. This new build of Windows 11 includes a new feature called Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR) that will allow us to enjoy an experience of Windows Ink more natural along with a smoother ride, without compromising battery usage.
As the name suggests, the dynamic refresh rate allows the device to set refresh rate dynamically. For example, if we have a 120 Hz screen, the device will change to 120Hz when using the touch scrolling stylus. When we finish using it it will return to 60Hz for the rest of the tasks. This helps balance performance and power consumption. The following applications support dynamic refresh rate in Windows 11:
- Smoother Windows Ink: Microsoft Office, Microsoft Edge, Whiteboard, Photos, Cropping and Annotation, Drawboard PDF, Sticky Notes, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Illustrator, Microsoft To Do, Inkodo
- Smoother scrolling: Microsoft Office
If you have the following hardware running the Windows 11 Insider build, you can enjoy this new DRR feature:
- To use DRR, we will need a laptop with a screen that supports variable refresh rate (VRR) and a refresh rate of at least 120 Hz.
- Additionally, DRR requires a graphics driver (WDDM 3.0) that supports it (available through Windows Update). They are working with graphics display partners to bring updated graphics drivers that support DRR into the Windows Insider program. Therefore, some people may need to wait a little longer to use DRR.